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Rams’ Matthew Stafford announces he will play in 2026 after winning MVP award

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SAN FRANCISCO — Retirement will have to wait a little while longer for Matthew Stafford. After being named NFL MVP for the first time in his 17-year NFL career, the Los Angeles Rams quarterback announced on the NFL Honors stage that he will be back for the 2026 season. Before this announcement on Thursday night, Stafford’s playing future had been up in the air ever since the Rams’ season ended in the NFC Championship. 

“I’ll see you guys next year,” Stafford said with the MVP award in hand and four daughters alongside him. 

“It’s something that I’ve been thinking about,” Stafford told reporters after receiving the award. “Talking with my family about even before the season ended, whether or not they wanted me to continue to play and whether or not it felt like I wanted to keep playing. I ended the season on a healthy note and was a part of a great team. I had a bunch of teammates in the crowd, coaches in the crowd, and it just felt like the right thing to do at the right moment. 

“It’s a family decision. I have my girls with me, so it just felt right. Happy to be coming back.”

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Stafford, 37, just completed a prolific 2025 season that found him voted as a first-team All-Pro along with this MVP honor. His 46 passing touchdowns were a franchise record and a career high for the former No. 1 overall pick in 2009. He was also just the fourth quarterback all time with at least 45 passing touchdowns and under 10 interceptions on the year.

“This game takes a lot out of you,” Stafford said when asked why he considered retirement after a season where he played at such an elite level. “You saw the people, the four little girls that were standing on stage with me, and I want to be as big a part of their life as I possibly can be. That’s really important to me, and if they weren’t supportive of me playing, I wouldn’t do it. 

“I’m lucky to have little girls that want their dad to do what he loves to do. They love cheering me on and all my teammates. It’s a special thing to have that, but it’s not something I’m willing to lose over a game that I love to play there’s no question about it but if they weren’t behind me in that decision, I don’t care how good I played that year or the year before or whatever it is, you know, we’d have some real talks.”

Stafford is also just the 15th quarterback ever to win MVP and have a Super Bowl on his résumé. Ten of those other 14 players are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, while three of the ones currently on the outside looking in are simply not eligible, but will get in (Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes). 

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With that in mind, Stafford has positioned himself quite nicely to one day be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, but the clock for his eligibility won’t start ticking quite yet. 

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Knicks acquiring G Jose Alvarado from Pelicans

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NBA: New Orleans Pelicans at Philadelphia 76ersJan 31, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado (15) reacts to his three pointer against the Philadelphia 76ers during the fourth quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks acquired guard Jose Alvarado from the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for guard Dalen Terry and two second-round draft picks on Thursday ahead of the NBA trade deadline.

New Orleans also sent the draft rights for Latavious Williams to New York.

Alvarado, 27, is averaging 7.9 points, 3.1 assists, 21.9 minutes and a career-high 2.8 rebounds in 41 games as a reserve this season. The native of Brooklyn, N.Y., posted career-high averages of 10.3 points, 4.6 assists and 24.4 minutes in 56 games (23 starts) last season with the Pelicans.

For his career, all with New Orleans since the 2021-22 campaign, Alvarado is averaging 8.1 points, 3.1 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 20.3 minutes in 268 regular-season games (34 starts).

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Terry, 23, was traded earlier from the Chicago Bulls to the Knicks for forward Guerschon Yabusele, 30.

Terry averaged 3.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 11.1 minutes in 34 games off the bench this season for the Bulls. His career averages in parts of four seasons are 3.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 11.1 minutes in 204 games (seven starts).

Chicago selected Terry with the 18th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft out of Arizona.

Williams, 36, was picked in the second round of the 2010 draft by the Miami Heat but has never played in the NBA. He is currently playing for Al-Ittihad Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

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–Field Level Media

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Moffi Tipped to Outshine Gyökeres After Move to FC Porto

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Super Eagles forward Terem Moffi has been tipped to make a bigger impact at FC Porto than Viktor Gyökeres has done at Sporting, following his winter move to the Portuguese giants.

Moffi joined FC Porto on loan from French club Nice during the January transfer window. The deal includes an option to buy, valued at eight million euros, with an additional 250,000 euros in bonuses.

The move followed a difficult period for the Nigerian striker in France, where he struggled for form and was affected by off-field issues, including an incident involving a group of fans targeting players.

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Speaking on Moffi’s character and development, former teammate Mindaugas Grigaravicius said the striker has the mindset and quality to succeed at the highest level. The two played together at Lithuanian club FK Riteriai, where Moffi joined at the age of 18 after leaving England.

Grigaravicius recalled that Moffi found life and football in Lithuania difficult at first but later proved his critics wrong.

“I lived with him for three weeks in a hotel, while the club looked for apartments for the players. I was the one who took him to training, we went for rides in the car and ate together,” he said.

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“He was a shy and quiet boy who didn’t speak at first. He didn’t show his emotions; he seemed like a boy who had come from Africa just chasing his dream of playing football. His first training sessions were terrible.”

He added that many people doubted Moffi’s ability in the early weeks.

“We were discussing amongst ourselves what he had come here to do, he couldn’t fit in or play. He was strong and tall, but he seemed weak, he lost every ball,” Grigaravicius said.

“After a month, we said he had no chance of staying… But he showed us how wrong we were.”

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According to Grigaravicius, Moffi’s improvement began when he accepted the physical and tactical demands of European football and put in extra work, especially in the gym and on the training ground.

“He had a complicated adaptation… He had to do extra work, and that’s where the progress began,” he said.

Once he settled, Moffi’s rise was rapid.

“He showed passion, power, a lot of strength… he crushed the defenders, he killed them! He started scoring a lot of goals,” Grigaravicius added.

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Looking ahead to Moffi’s time at FC Porto, Grigaravicius said the striker has everything needed to succeed in Portugal.

“At a big club like FC Porto, there’s no time for adaptation… he will surely be successful,” he said.

“In good form, with everyone’s confidence, he has no limits. He could be better than Gyökeres at Sporting.”

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Watch: 14-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s animated celebration after record-breaking ton goes viral in U19 World Cup final | Cricket News

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Watch: 14-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's animated celebration after record-breaking ton goes viral in U19 World Cup final
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Photo by @BCCI on X)

NEW DELHI: Fourteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi delivered a stunning performance in the U-19 World Cup final on Friday, producing one of the most dominant innings ever seen at this level. Playing against England on the biggest stage, the young Indian opener showed remarkable composure and attacking intent from the very start.

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Sooryavanshi reached his century in just 55 balls, making it the second-fastest hundred in U-19 World Cup history. Only Australia’s Will Malajczuk has scored a quicker ton in the tournament. He brought up his century with a single and then marked the moment with a calm and respectful celebration. After a brief roar, he removed his helmet and gloves, paused for a brief prayer, and applauded the dressing room.Watch:The Indian batter brought up his first fifty in 32 balls and then accelerated even further, scoring his next fifty in only 23 deliveries as England’s bowlers struggled to slow him down.He shared a rapid 142-run partnership with captain Ayush Mhatre, who contributed a steady half-century before getting out. Together, they completely took control of the final and pushed England onto the back foot.Sooryavanshi eventually fell for a breathtaking 175 off 80 balls, an innings filled with 15 fours and 15 sixes. His dismissal finally gave England a moment to regroup, as the scoring rate had made even an extremely high total seem possible.Despite missing out on a double century, the young prodigy walked off to a standing ovation. At the time of reporting, India have crossed 300 runs with over 15 overs left to play.

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Chris Jericho returning to WWE in a non-wrestling role is possible, says veteran

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A wrestling veteran said that the former AEW World Champion, Chris Jericho could return to WWE in a non-wrestling role. The veteran believes that Y2J could join the Stamford-based promotion in an off-screen role.

Chris Jericho may not return to the WWE as a talent, according to the wrestling veteran, Dutch Mantell. Jericho last appeared on AEW TV back in April 2025. While he has been heavily rumored to be returning to the Sports Entertainment Juggernaut for months, Y2J is still listed on the official roster page of Tony Khan’s promotion.

Speaking on his Story Time podcast recently, Dutch Mantell assumed that Jericho may not return to the WWE as a talent, but could become a part of the promotion’s creative team instead:

“Well, he may be in shape, but when people hear he’s 55-56, to me, he is an old guy in a young man’s game; it’s what he is. I don’t care how good he is, he is great. I’ve seen him do a lot of great stuff and he hits all the points. But at 55, and he’s not going back till next year, I would say there is a possibility that he doesn’t even go now, as a talent, let me say that. He may not go as a talent; he could go as a part of the creative team, but I don’t think he wants to do that.”

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Veteran believes Chris Jericho will end his wrestling career in WWE

The wrestling veteran, Jim Ross recently claimed that Chris Jericho wants to finish up his wrestling career in the WWE. Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Ross also recalled hiring Jericho to the Stamford-based promotion decades ago:

“I don’t think going to WWE is a matter over paychecks. I think he wants to end his career in wrestling in WWE. I hired Chris Jericho. Jerry Brisco and I had a couple of meetings as I recall to get him pointed in the right direction,” JR said.

Only time will tell what the future holds for Y2J.

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If taking quotes from this article’s first half, H/T ‘Sportskeeda Wrestling’ for transcription and credit ‘Story Time with Dutch Mantell on YT.’